On loan from City, Nasri has excelled in his early days at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, scoring three goals in nine games in all competitions.

With a number of compatriots around him such as Rami, Steven N'Zonzi, Benoit Tremoulinas and Timothee Kolodziejczak, Nasri has been able to adapt to his surroundings rapidly.

Pep Guardiola was reportedly keen to keep hold of Nasri but Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli and transfer guru Monchi were able to convince Nasri that he could follow Banega's path and return to stardom with them.

Sampaoli has played a massive role in bringing the best out of Nasri in Spain, deploying him as a central midfielder rather than a winger and giving him license to play important passes.

Losing Banega to Inter last summer was a blow but Nasri has softened it convincingly, quickly becoming a fan favourite through his impressive performances.

While Sevilla have enjoyed excellent success in the Europa League of late, improving in the Champions League remains the next step and Nasri recently scored the only goal in the victory over Dinamo Zagreb.